Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Malaysia’s leading amateur Malcolm Ting is super excited about his first trip to Spain next week as part of the Asia-Pacific team for the Bonallack Trophy match against Europe from August 3-5.
Ting will become the fifth Malaysian and the first since Ben Leong in 2006 to play in the team match play event against Europe when the 11th edition tees off at La Manga Club. While Europe leads the series with seven wins, Asia-Pacific’s three victories include the last match at Qatar’s Doha Golf Club in 2018 before the Covid-19 pandemic forced a five-year hiatus.
“I feel very excited because this will be my first trip to Spain. I’m truly proud and happy to represent Asia-Pacific in this prestigious team event,” said Ting, whose chequered amateur career includes an individual silver medal at the 2023 Southeast Asan Games in Cambodia.
“I’ve been playing a lot outside Malaysia recently, just trying to play as many events as I can to get ready for the Bonallack Trophy,” added the 21-year-old, who has been researching the likely conditions he'll encounter at La Manga.
“The weather conditions at La Manga look similar to Malaysia, but it will be windier. I was at the Hills Academy in Australia for three years and played many events there, so I’m quite used to windy conditions,” said Ting.
Hailing from the city of Miri in the State of Sarawak, Ting has been in fine form recently and is ranked 166th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) with two wins and four runner-up finishes in WAGR counting events this year. He finished second at this month's Vietnam Amateur Open ahead of Bonallack Trophy team-mate Nguyen Anh Minh.
Ting has also benefitted from being part of last month's AAC Academy camp at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, organised as a pre-cursor to the 14th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) at the storied Australian club from October 26-29. As the top-ranked Malaysian on the WAGR, Ting should be a shoo-in for the Malaysian squad at this year’s championship.
“This year’s AAC will be played at Royal Melbourne, so the AAC Academy gave us a great chance to play there and prepare ourselves. It was cold and windy, and it was a valuable experience to go there and try the course,” said Ting.
“Royal Melbourne is a really tough golf course, and you need to know what to avoid and where not to hit. The greens are the biggest challenge – never get over the pin! They are really fast and even on a normal day, the speed is about 11. I think during the AAC they will try to get the greens to roll as fast as they can, so it will be up to 13 or even 14,” he continued.
Ting praised the AAC Academy coaches for helping him and the other participants learn how to prepare themselves for big events.
“Part of the AAC Academy training was how to be more prepared for tournaments. The coaches worked really hard to show us how to prepare for the AAC, and how to hit it low or high, draws or fades. They taught us how to understand the ball, how to produce different ball flights, but in an uncomplicated way,” he explained.
Fittingly, the AAC will be Ting’s final event as a professional – unless he wins and earns coveted starts in the Masters Tournament and The Open in 2024.
“I plan to turn professional after the AAC, unless I win it! Of course, if I win then I will wait until I play the Masters and The Open before turning pro,” said Ting.
Having played in the 2019 AAC at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China, where he finished tied for 52nd, Ting is looking forward to his second appearance in the region’s premier amateur event.
“Shanghai in 2019 was a fabulous experience. The hospitality was fantastic, you stay in a good hotel, the course set-up was world-class. We played at Sheshan International which was a really good golf course and has hosted many big events, like the HSBC Champions,” Ting recalled.
“The AAC is a really big event because there are a lot of good players from around the region. My target this year would be top five. Top three would be fantastic.”